Library for Sewende Laan

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Social Services portfolio councillor Thandeka Maseti (second right) officially opened the Sewende Laan mini library on Friday. With her are DSRAC’s Lubabalo Dzedze (left), the department’s Library Conditional Grants Manager Zintle Mahleka (right) and a young member of the community who will be benefiting from the library.

Library for Sewende Laan

KOUGA Municipality has opened a new mini library in Sewende Laan, Humansdorp.

The new structure, a container, was donated by the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) after numerous applications by the municipality.

At the event, held on Friday at the Ward 4 councillor’s office where the library is situated, Social Services portfolio councillor Thandeka Maseti said having the mini library in Sewende Laan was not only an achievement for the municipality but for the community at large.

“Libraries are centres of information and we all know the old adage that ‘knowledge is power’. In modern society, everything valuable is contained somewhere in a book and it is one’s duty to find it,” she said.

Maseti encouraged the children and parents in attendance to make use of the facility as usage statistics will inform possible future development.

Her words were echoed by DSRAC’s Manager for Library and Information Services, Lubabalo Dzedze.

“You must not only use this library, but you must look after it. There are other competing interests in government programmes and there are many other places that need such facilities. Therefore, we need to protect what we have,” he said.

He said it cost about R9 million to build a fully-fledged library.

“This kind of intervention by government is an attempt to mediate the long wait for a proper structure,” he said.

Dzedze added that Kouga got the nod for the sponsorship because its officials were very determined. He said Kouga was also one of the first municipalities to get their subsidy this year because they complied with the department’s regulations.